Contest Lauds World’s Unluckiest Travelers Who are Rescued by Kindness

In 2010, a travel insurance company collected unlucky travel stories and crowned the “World’s Unluckiest Traveler” who won a $10,000 dream vacation. This year, Travel Guard is looking for good deeds that turned around some travel nightmares for its new contest, “World’s Unluckiest Traveler: The Rescue”.

Travelers are already posting at the website stories featuring the kindness of strangers, how one kind person salvaged a mishap or saved an entire vacation. The hero of the most inspiring story will win a $10,000 vacation.

Stories submitted during the first two weeks are racking up “Likes” in the contest which ends on Labor Day weekend. Inspiring stories include a Toronto visitor whose wallet was suddenly lost leaving him stranded without transportation, when a woman overheard him on the phone and bought him a bus ticket. “I will never forget what she did for me.”

Another kind stranger saw a woman leave her wallet atop her car at the gas station. On her way to the airport to go to her sister’s wedding, the woman’s wallet contained the boarding pass and all her cash. The Good Samaritan followed her 22 miles until she stopped at the airport to return the wallet.

“Travel mishaps, major or minor, are frustrating for everyone, and we’re inspired by the stories we hear every day about good deeds of other travelers turning things around,” said Carol Mueller, Vice President of Travel Guard North America.

One story tells of a Pennsylvania family packed for a thousand mile journey, excited to visit far away relatives for the holidays. But only 90 minutes into their trip, the van broke down. There was no other option than to return home. The mother called her best friend to come pick them up, which would have been help enough. But the friend and her husband showed up with two cars. One for them to get back home, and one van for the family to take to Kansas. “She thought nothing about the cost to her but only about saving our family’s Christmas vacation.”

Entries will be accepted through Labor Day, September 5. On September 27, World Tourism Day, Travel Guard will announce the ten best stories, as chosen by a panel of travel experts. Throughout the month of October, the public will vote for the ultimate act of kindness. The winning “Hero,” as voted by North America, will be awarded a $10,000 “Hero’s Vacation.” The person who nominated the winning story will win $2,000 in airfare for two anywhere in the U.S.

The contest is open to all legal residents of the United States and Canada. For more information on the contest and a full set of rules and regulations, visit www.TravelGuard.com.